The Soaring Prices of Air-Cooled Porsches

Recently, the prices of air-cooled Porsches have been climbing relentlessly. While used prices for domestic sports cars have also generally increased, the rate of increase for air-cooled Porsches is truly remarkable. Nowadays, even those in decent condition mostly come with price tags marked as ‘Negotiable’ or ‘ASK.’

Even for cars with listed prices, if they have under 100,000 km and are close to original condition, a 964 Tiptronic can fetch nearly 10 million yen. When I bought mine three years ago, it was about 7 million yen, so you can really see how much prices have surged.

With such expensive air-cooled Porsches, many people wonder how much the maintenance and upkeep actually cost after paying such a high price. So, as just one example, I’d like to roughly share the costs I’ve incurred with my 1992 911 Carrera 2 Tip (964).

Is Maintaining an Air-Cooled Porsche Difficult?

Is it difficult? For those not interested in cars or without a special attachment to air-cooled Porsches, it will undoubtedly seem ‘difficult.’ So it’s clear that the maintenance frequency is not like that of modern cars. I think there are few examples where annual inspections alone suffice.

However, this depends on the owner’s personality. Whether you want to keep the car in perfect condition at all times and immediately fix even minor issues, or whether you’re okay with some quirks as long as it runs, makes a big difference.

As for my 964, there have been no serious troubles so far. I’m not overly particular, but since I enjoy long-distance touring, I need my air-cooled Porsche to reliably cover about 500 km a day, and I prefer to drive it as close to new condition as possible, so I often perform preventive maintenance even when nothing is broken.

For that reason, I believe my maintenance costs are higher than average.

What Are the Maintenance Costs? Breakdown Inside

Soon, my air-cooled Porsche will mark its third year with us, and the total maintenance costs so far come to roughly 2.14 million yen.

Let’s take a look at the breakdown. All prices include parts, labor, and other fees, and are approximate.

Regular Maintenance Costs

These are the routine costs that come with owning a car. Since Porsches require a large amount of high-performance oil, oil changes should be budgeted at around 30,000 yen per service at minimum.

Oil & filter changes: approx. 30,000 yen x 4 times = 120,000 yen
Brake fluid change: 7,000 yen
Second-year vehicle inspection (including taxes): 115,000 yen

Maintenance Costs for Repairs

There have been no major breakdowns that stopped the car, but after about 30 years, noises or malfunctions can occur here and there. Here’s a list of repair costs.

Noise fix for left and right doors: 16,000 yen
Brake judder repair (including brake disc rotor replacement): 82,000 yen
Rear driveshaft boot replacement & greasing: 40,000 yen
Belt tension adjustment: 3,000 yen
Wiper blade replacement: 4,000 yen
Wheel balance adjustment: 6,000 yen
Throttle wire greasing: 2,000 yen
Air conditioning gas refill, etc.: 10,000 yen
Engine blower motor fan replacement: 76,000 yen
Rear spoiler wall replacement: 23,000 yen
Grounding fault repair: 8,000 yen
Speaker replacement with newly produced genuine speakers due to tears: 140,000 yen
Door stopper replacement: 20,000 yen

Preventive and Optional Maintenance Costs

These are not strictly necessary for driving, but help maintain a condition closer to new and avoid issues during long-distance tours. The total maintenance cost so far comes to about 2.126 million yen.

ATF replacement (including strainer, oil pan, etc.): 100,000 yen
Distributor replacement set: 94,000 yen
Complete suspension replacement (shocks, bushings, mounts): 1,260,000 yen

Optional Customization Costs

These are for cosmetic maintenance and upgrades to enjoy modern technology comfortably in an air-cooled Porsche. These costs are not included in the 2.12 million yen total.

Full wheel repaint: 100,000 yen
Lithium-ion battery replacement: 110,000 yen
ICE FUSE: 28,000 yen
PCCM (genuine navigation for classic Porsches): 150,000 yen
LED lighting upgrades: approx. 20,000 yen

Is It Worth Spending on Maintenance?

These are the maintenance costs for owning an air-cooled Porsche for about three years, and the most expensive item is definitely the complete suspension replacement. However, I truly believe it was worth it. If I hadn’t done it, I would have missed out on experiencing the fantastic ride quality of the car when new, which is a scary thought. The difference in driving feel was dramatic.

If you’re buying an air-cooled Porsche and plan to actually drive it rather than just collect or display it, I highly recommend refreshing the suspension. Regardless of mileage, aging will inevitably wear out the suspension and rubber parts, so refreshing them to enjoy the original ride quality is a great idea.

Fortunately, my car has no major oil leaks from the engine, so an overhaul isn’t planned, but if you have a high-mileage car or one with severe oil leaks, you should also factor in engine overhaul costs (which many estimate around 1 to 1.5 million yen).

As you can see, keeping an air-cooled Porsche running well can be costly, but these cars hold their resale value very well. Given the recent price surges, it’s quite possible that when you sell, you’ll recoup your maintenance expenses.

It goes without saying, but air-cooled Porsches will never be produced again. While their numbers may decrease, they will never increase. That’s why, in the long term, prices are likely to keep rising.

With that in mind, spending money on maintaining an air-cooled Porsche isn’t necessarily a loss. Rather, you get to enjoy a well-maintained car and may even save money in the long run. So, I believe investing in maintenance for classic Porsches is never a waste.

Air-cooled Porsches are truly wonderful cars, so I hope owners will lovingly maintain them and enjoy the fantastic driving experience they offered when new.